Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Danny Kaye.

JLTV, the Jewish Live Television Network, a cable station which comes with my cable package, and
features all things Jewish, a la the original Goldbergs with Gertrude Berg, Soupy Sales (a jew),
Candid Camera (Allen Funt was a Jew) That Show (Joan Rivers' first syndicated talk show, before she had any work done, Lord knows she was a jew. Jack Benny. Notice a theme?
With much fanfare, they just added "The Danny Kaye Show", his variety series from the 1960s.
I consider this a major gift.I never got to see it much when it was first on. Now I'm able to go back and watch the whole series. After 50 years. And it is wonderful.Danny Kaye was a great entertainer.You really can't tell what an asshole he was in real life, which in fact he was.He hid it well. And I am able to separate his TV persona from his real life.He has wonderful guests whom you don't get to see very often elsewhere.Imogene Coca was on frequently, at the top of her game.Diahann Carroll, underappreciated for the singer that she is, shows off her singing chops magnificently.All the guests are used to really show them off to their best.And Danny sings a lot of his wife's (Sylvia Fine's) material. It was hilariousAnd is unmatched anywhere else.It's reason enough to seek it out on your cable.If your carrier doesn't carry it, it's time to bellyache.It's worth the trouble.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.,
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not e-books.
But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@comcast.net
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

3 comments:

Thanks for the tip on this. I don't think my cable system carries the Jewish Life Television Network, BUT I've been able to view episodes of the Kaye show by going to the network's website -- www.jltv.tv -- and clicking on the Watch Live link on the home page at the right time. (I believe the Kaye show is presented at 2 p.m. Monday through Friday EST and at 10 p.m. EST Thursdays. Not sure about weekends.)

I was too young to stay up to watch the show when I was a kid, so this stuff is basically new to me. It's a wonderfully polished program with top-of-the-line sketch writing, great music and guests who are treated with respect. Makes me wish the SNL writers would watch it; granted, they don't have nearly as much air time per sketch, but at least they might learn something about how to end a sketch. I also like how, although the performers sometimes come very close to breaking up, they're professional enough to rein themselves in.

The most amazing part, though, is Kaye himself, whom I've usually avoided because, like you, I've known about his history as not being a very pleasant person. Perhaps the TV show is his most outstanding performance -- if there had been an Emmy for outstanding performance by someone who is trying to come across as a nice version of himself, he would have been a shoo-in.

Did not know that Danny Kaye was a real life asshole. And even though I'm 65 and watched a great deal of television in the Sixties I don't ever recall seeing "The Danny Kaye Show" even though Wikipedia states that it aired from 1963 to 1967. I recall him hosting the annual showing of "The Wizard Of Oz". I saw a number of his movies. As a kid the local host of a kid's TV show used to lip sync to his records (I never thought that "Vessel In The Pestle" thing was all that funny. It certainly didn't beat "Who's On First?"). In the 80's, 90's an 2000's there was a local radio talk show host who absolutely insisted that Kaye and Laurence Olivier were gay lovers. I tried to watch "White Christmas" last holiday season because it's regarded as a film classic and I'd never seen it. Couldn't make it though the first hour. It seemed silly and contrived, even for a musical. There are some novels and short stories that should remain in the realm of the written word. "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty" is one. Speaking of the written word, would sure like to read some of those assholes stories, Mark.

About Me

Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor.
You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."